While all this is good and proven, why do I say it can save your life? I have seen this twice in the last few years personally and want to relate these events to you briefly. A few years ago my stepson fell 20 feet off of a barn roof. He landed flat on his back. The bad thing was that his neck and back landed over tree branches and other pieces of wood. It was feared that he had a significant amount of head, neck and back trauma from the fall and was taken to the hospital by helicopter.
The physician was surprised at the relatively minor injuries he had in relation to what had happened. He had cuts on the back of his head, a concussion, and some other cuts and bruises but no broken bones. The reason the physician said there was not more damage or significant neck and back injury was because he had a significant amount of muscle mass. At that time my stepson had been spending a few days a week in the gym doing some heavy lifting. Had he not had that kind of muscle mass and joint stability, there is a good chance that he could have had whiplash, a broken neck or broken back. Heavy strength training, in this case, really helped save his life.
Even more recently my husband got hit by a falling tree. Even though it was the top that hit him, there is usually still enough force to end up with life-threatening injuries from this kind of accident. He was knocked unconscious for a short period of time and was feared to have head, neck and back trauma and was taken to the hospital by helicopter. Once again, the benefits of heavy strength training were seen in the reduction of the severity of the injuries. Instead of severe neck or back injuries that could have resulted in paralysis or death, he came out with 3 broken ribs and a fractured shoulder blade along with cuts and bruises.
The paramedics and doctors were amazed at how minor his injuries were in light of the situation. He was very fortunate that it wasn’t worse, but having significant muscle mass in his upper body helped him withstand the force that hit him and gave him the structural stability to help keep the bones in place. Once again, the muscle he gained by several days a week of heavy strength training in the gym helped to save his life.
Will this always be the case? Definitely not. There will be accidents and injuries that no amount of strength training could save a person from. However, I have seen the life-saving benefits of heavy strength training first hand – twice! There is a reason that athletes who are preparing to take significant blows to the body train hard to increase muscle mass. Strength, size, joint stability and injury reduction are just a few.
In conclusion, athletes to older adults – both men and women- can do themselves a real favor by taking a few hours a week to engage in heavy strength training. Life-saving increases in mass, strength and stability can be realized in as little as 30 minutes 3 times a week. So if you want to start helping yourself in this way, stop into the Canton Fitness Center today! For more information on staffed hours, pricing and memberships, go to www.CantonFitnessCenter.com.